Work Text:
Adrien was feeling all sorts of guilty.
He was trying very hard not to blame Chloe.
Very, very hard, because from most angles it really was her fault. He and Marinette had been chatting on their way out of the school for lunch hour — Marinette stammering a little as usual, but Adrien had grown accustomed to it. He supposed she was still a bit wary of him after he’d made such a bad first impression at the start of term last year. Or perhaps she was intimidated by the fact that he was the son of the designer she so idolized. Whatever the cause, her shyness had lessened as they’d grown friendlier, and he was glad to be able to talk to her like this. She was really quite funny when she wasn’t busy being absurdly kind, and once out of her shell she could match him in the easy rapport he so rarely had in his civilian life. The only person he enjoyed just talking to this much was his Lady. And wasn’t that something?
So of course Chloe had to go and ruin it all. No, he scolded himself, this may have come about one way or another without Chloe’s … interjection.
But, well, she had interjected. Her high, derisive laugh had carried over the chatter of the students around them, and Adrien’s head snapped up to see her and Sabrina walking just a few paces ahead.
“You’re right, that is pathetic,” she said, looking at Sabrina but ostensibly eyeing Marinette in her periphery. “If I st-t-tuttered that bad in front of a guy I had a crush on, I think I’d change schools.”
Dumbstruck, Adrien came to an halt in the middle of the hallway. Beside him, he saw Marinette do the same, tense with anger.
Chloe was laughing again, Sabrina giggling uncomfortably along with her. “But of course I’d never do that. I’m not a coward.”
With that, the girls strode out through the front entrance of the school, but the damage was already done. Realizing belatedly that they were causing a scene, Adrien grabbed a stock-still Marinette by the wrist and guided her into an empty side hallway.
He turned his back to the main entryway, shielding Marinette from any more nosy classmates. He looked at her, still processing Chloe’s remark. Had she meant to imply that….? Marinette had gone very pink and seemed unable to meet his eyes.
“Marinette, do you, uh.” He couldn’t quite form the sentence. “Me?”
Blue eyes flicked up to look at him, utterly panicked. But they seemed to reach a decision. “Yes,” she said quietly, and it was possibly the shortest reply she’d ever given him.
Adrien found himself suddenly and unexpectedly filled with breathless excitement. Marinette had a crush on him. Bold, thoughtful Marinette, who was his friend, who had gotten to he worried was still awkward around him because — oh. Oh, that made sense. She liked him, and he—
And he was in love with Ladybug. His heart plummeted almost as fast as it had just risen. It must’ve shown on his face, because Marinette at once took on the most resigned expression he’d ever seen her wear. He decided at once that he disliked it.
“I’m sorry, I was never going to— I was excited just to be your friend, I didn’t expect—”
“No, it’s okay, it’s—” He sighed. “I’m sorry it happened this way. I really like you, Marinette, it’s just—”
“It’s fine,” she said, taking a step back.
“—there’s someone...else,” he finished lamely. He stared hard at the ground between them, feeling worse with each word he spoke. “There’s someone else and I feel...a lot, for both of you, and I don’t think it’d be fair to either of you for me to act on that until I’ve sorted myself out.” He met her eyes and was dismayed to find that they were brimming with tears. “I’m sorry.”
Marinette shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize,” she said shakily.
“Still—”
“I’ve gotta go,” she squeaked, and flew past him back towards the doors.
He watched them slam shut behind her, alone in the now empty building. A voice startled him out of his sulk.
“Well that went well, Mr. Heartthrob.” Plagg had zipped out of his bag to hover at his shoulder.
“Shut up,” Adrien told him, uncharacteristically terse. “I’m going after her.”
“Is that the best idea right now?”
“Yes.” Adrien opened his bag and urged Plagg inside. “And I might need you, so don’t go taking any naps.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” said Plagg sardonically from his pouch, but Adrien was already bounding down the front steps.
He caught up with Marinette at the park a few blocks south of their school, where he watched her as inconspicuously as he could manage from behind the broad trunk of a large oak tree. She sat on a bench several yards away, head cradled in her hands. Aside from the two of them, the park was empty. It seemed everyone was in for lunch.
So Adrien felt terrible. Not only had he rejected Marinette, a girl whom he actually very much liked, but now he was tailing her like a stalker through the emotional fallout she deserved to be alone for. But he couldn’t risk his friend being akumatized — not when he had the rare opportunity to stop it before it happened.
Maybe he shouldn’t have told her he was interested in someone else. No, he decided almost immediately. Marinette deserved the truth. And apparently the truth was that he was a heart-breaking, emotionally confused disaster who hadn’t given this any thought because he literally hadn’t noticed that he was being slowly pulled in two.
He risked a glance over at Marinette. She’d straightened slightly, and was gazing up at the cloudless sky above them. She no longer looked to be crying, Adrien noted with some relief — but that didn’t necessarily mean she was okay.
Marinette suddenly tensed, limbs drawing close almost defensively before she rose from the bench. She seemed to be staring intently at something in front of her. For a moment, Adrien couldn’t figure out what she was looking at, but then he spotted it — the black butterfly descending slowly towards her.
And she saw it. People never seemed to see the akuma coming, but the way Marinette was leveling her chin at the creature, almost as if to challenge it, left no doubt in Adrien’s mind. She’d been expecting it, same as he was. Adrien couldn’t help but be impressed. Even hurt as she must be feeling, Marinette was cleverer than most of Paris.
But the butterfly was getting closer, and Adrien had to do something. He unzipped his backpack, ready to transform, but then Marinette did something very strange. She started talking to it.
“You think that will work on me?” she said, loud to the point of shouting. She sounded angry, but something else in her voice told Adrien that she was afraid. Nevertheless, she held her ground. “I may have a broken heart, Hawkmoth, but I’m not like you.”
The butterfly paused in its advance, fluttering in place for a moment. Huh.
Marinette kept going. “I know you. I know your game. And I know better than to let these feelings you sniff out fester into something dark.” She stared at the insect as if she were expecting a response, but none came. “You think I want power? Revenge?” She spread her arms. “Newsflash: I don’t. I don’t want anything you have to offer, so…” She balled her fists, sputtering. “S-so you’ll just have to find somebody else to manipulate. Got it?”
The akuma seemed to hesitate, and Adrien pleaded silently for this to work, for it to turn tail and take back to the sky. But it was only a few tense moments before it started towards her again.
Marinette took a step back, and the backs of her knees hit the bench. Her confidence seemed to waver. “Uh. Did you hear me, petit papillion?” Desperate to get away from the creature, she planted one foot on the bench behind her and pushed up to stand on it. “At the risk of sounding like Chat Noir,” she said, baring her teeth, “bug off!”
Adrien could’ve kissed her. Well, uh, so to speak. Or…for real. He was still figuring that out.
But the butterfly evidently didn’t feel like bugging off. It just kept on coming.
“Claws out,” Adrien whispered, straining to focus on Marinette through the light of his transformation. He was about to spring out from hiding to do god-knows-what – he didn’t have any sort of plan aside from protect Mari — but then Marinette spoke again. “I didn’t want to do it this way,” she said, sounding disappointed. “Guess I’m not as strong as I thought.”
And with that, Marinette vaulted over the back of the bench, muttering something Adrien was too shocked to catch as she crouched down to be engulfed in pink light.
Moments later, rising from behind the bench in her place was…Ladybug.
Oh.
Oh.
Adrien didn’t even have the time to be properly surprised before his partner was on the attack, her yo-yo swinging in a perfect arc that intercepted the akuma at its apex. She reeled it in close and stared at it for a moment. “Not a fair fight today, little akuma,” she said apologetically. “I’ve got a cheat code. But, lucky for you, it means you get cleansed right away.” She slid a finger over the curved surface of her weapon and the white butterfly rushed out, careening skyward.
And just like that, it was over. Ladybug settled down in the grass to watch it go.
Well, Adrien figured, this was as good a time as any for Chat Noir to butt in. He’d mostly finished being shocked — uh, mostly — and was about halfway through playing back every memory he had of Ladybug and being shocked all over again at how much sense it made — but right now, the priority was Marinette. Uh, Ladybug. Buginette. Oh, he’d have to use that one.
Steeling himself, Chat strode out towards his partner, who, despite her victory, looked completely miserable. She didn’t look at Chat as he drew near, just sat silently as he knelt down beside her.
“What seems to be the purrawblem, my lady?” he started, already wincing. Bad jokes wouldn’t lighten this particular mood.
When Ladybug turned to him, her eyes were swimming with tears, and Adrien hated it just as much the second time. “He tried to akumatize me,” she explained, voice shaking. “As a civilian. I thought I was…” She shook her head, sniffling. “I don’t know. Better than that. I thought I could let go of anger and sadness enough to stop him getting a hold on me, but I…couldn’t.” She wiped a gloved hand over her eyes. “Some hero I am.”
Adrien would have been in disbelief if he didn’t know firsthand — twice over — how hard the girl could be on herself. He had to set her straight. “But you did stop him! You transformed and purified the akuma, didn’t you?” She nodded. He snapped as if that settled the matter. “Well, there you go! That’s resistance if ever I saw it.”
Marinette sighed. “But I couldn’t accept my emotions enough to overcome him. If I weren’t Ladybug, it would’ve gotten me.”
Adrien shifted so that he was leaning in front of her. “Hey,” he said gently. With reluctance, she looked up at him. “Everybody’s allowed to feel sad once in a while. Angry, heartbroken, jealous — we’re allowed to feel whatever’s inside us, as long as it doesn’t hurt others.” He reached for her hand, and she let him take it in one of his own. She seemed surprised when he didn’t kiss it — just covered it with his other hand and held it there a moment. “It’s Hawkmoth who’s in the wrong here. Not you. He’s the one making those feelings harmful.” He wasn’t sure where this speech was coming from, but it seemed to be working.“Besides, that’s why we’re here,” he remarked. “Ladybug and Chat Noir exist to defend the right of the people to feel what they feel. It’s no wonder you had to call on her.”
Ladybug took a deep breath and straightened. She squeezed the hand that was holding her own. “Thank you, Chat.”
“Any time, my Lady,” he said, breath coming a little easier when he saw her small smile. And then it was knocked out of him in a rush as she surged forward to hug him. He flung a hand out to brace himself and wrapped the other one around her shoulders.
“I was so scared,” she confessed, voice breaking now that he couldn’t see her face. Adrien squeezed her tighter. “If I got akumatized, you wouldn’t have any way to stop me. Ladybug would just be gone, a-and you wouldn’t know why.”
Adrien hadn’t thought of that. The idea scared him more than he was willing to admit. “We would have figured it out,” he said without any certainty. “But it didn’t happen. You beat him.”
He felt Ladybug’s chin hit his shoulder. “I’d just never want you to think I’d abandoned you like that.”
Marinette. Compassionate, loyal, kind Marinette. How had he never seen it before? “I know you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t, either. I promise.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Kitty,” said Ladybug, and something warm and fuzzy exploded in Adrien’s chest. “Wait,” she said, confused. She pulled back to look at him. “Why are you here?”
Adrien hadn’t thought this far ahead.
“I mean—how did you know to come here?” she amended.
Adrien considered his options. He could try to claim that he’d just happened by, but the words soured in his mouth even as he thought of them. He needed to tell her. She deserved the truth. Again. So maybe that’s how he’d start.
“I was worried about you,” he explained. Ladybug frowned, confused. “You left in such a rush, and I knew whatever you were feeling was probably…highly akumatizable. After all, I’d just turned you down for…well, you, apparently.”
He was equal parts exhilarated and terrified as he watched her put the pieces together. Her eyes widened further with every second of silence until Adrien was worried they’d pop out of her skull. Her mouth opened and Adrien swore she was about to say his name — his real name — but then she shut it again. She stood suddenly and scanned their surroundings. Adrien stood too. No sooner had he reached his feet than Ladybug had seized him by the wrist and dragged him out of the park. She broke into a run, and he kept pace down a zigzag of streets that didn’t foretell any particular destination. At last, Ladybug stopped in a quiet side alley and spun to face him.
“Smart,” he remarked, a little out of breath. “Getting out of the public eye. You’re one step ahead as usual, my La—“
“Oh my god,” she cut in, staring at his face as if she’d never seen it before. Adrien found himself blushing at the scrutiny. “Oh my god. It is you, isn’t it?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Adrien?”
Adrien couldn’t resist such a dramatic opportunity. He answered by dropping his transformation, grinning awkwardly at her when he could see again. “Right as usual, Princess.”
Even though she’d just guessed the truth, Marinette still gasped when her partner detransformed. She glanced briefly at the black kwami that came to hover near Adrien’s shoulder, but her attention was soon pulled back to the blonde boy. “Wait, Princess? So you know I’m—of course you do, you—oh my god.”
Adrien’s smile faltered. Marinette looked downright frazzled. She’d taken to pacing the narrow width of the alley, managing only muttered half-thoughts. “The same school…but Master Fu said...right in front of me?” Adrien would have found it funny if he wasn’t still reeling from the discovery himself. “Fencing...so obvious--” Marinette broke off with a gasp, a hand coming up to smack her forehead.
“...my Lady?” Adrien prompted.
“I’ve done…such stupid things!” she cried, and okay, whatever Adrien had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “In front of both of you!”
Adrien wasn’t following. “What do you mean?”
Marinette groaned. “You know how clumsy I am, how easily Chloe gets under my skin, you know about the stupid crush that got us here…” She counted the items off on her fingers. “And now as Chat Noir, you know I’m terrified of being akumatized and was weak enough to come this close!” She mimed a miniscule gap with a pinky and thumb.
“You’re not weak,” Adrien said, so fiercely it was almost a snarl.
Marinette hung her head. “I let a little insult get to my head and almost put all of Paris at risk because of it,” she said miserably. “And you were there. ” She shook her head. “You must be so...disappointed.”
“Disappointed?” Adrien repeated in disbelief. “Marinette, how could I be disappointed? If anyone should be disappointed, it’s you.”
Marinette raised her head to look at him. “What?” Her brow furrowed. “Why?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “I’m not...who you thought I was,” Adrien explained. “I’m not the suave model from the posters, and I’m not the model student from class.” He shrugged. “Mostly I’m a guy in a leather catsuit telling terrible jokes and getting in his partner’s way. I couldn’t— I couldn’t even protect you from that akuma. You had to risk your identity when I was right there—”
“Chat,” said Marinette comfortingly, then caught herself. “A-Adrien. God, this is confusing. L-listen, there wasn’t anything you could have done! It’s not your fault the yo-yo’s the only thing that can deal with the butterflies.” Said yo-yo was now spinning in a tight, anxious circle at her side. Seeing that it was drawing his attention, she reeled it in a gripped it tight. “And you don’t get in my way,” she asserted. “You’re a hero — you’re the only reason I’m a hero, remember? From day one, I could never do this without you.” He was tempted to argue, but the set of her jaw, just as it had been when she stared down that akuma, told him arguing wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“As for not being the Adrien I know, well...” Ladybug shrugged. “Honestly, I’ve always sort of felt like part of you was...missing. Hidden. I was worried it was because your father didn’t approve of it, whatever it was.”
Adrien laughed bitterly. “He wouldn’t.”
Marinette didn’t laugh with him. “Still,” she said seriously, “I-I get it. The suit being a place to be...whatever you can’t be, normally.” Marinette smiled. “I’m glad you have that. And...” A blush Adrien hadn’t noticed her sporting somehow deepened. “I think— I’m lucky I got to know this side of you.”
Adrien felt a warm rush of gratitude for the girl in front of him — Ladybug, taking everything in stride, and Marinette, meeting weakness with kindness. He laughed softly. “Must seem pretty weird, though, huh?”
Marinette nodded. Looked up at him, and nodded again. Just kept on nodding like the movement was helping her process the information. “Suuuper weird,” she said. The nodding stopped, and she stared hard at him and he — he knew that look. It was the same look she got right after catching the lucky charm in battle — the look that meant she was piecing together the things around her, making a plan of attack. But, he realized, Marinette got that look sometimes, too. When she trailed off mid-sentence because her mind was busy piecing together a design. When she was deciding how best to right Chloe’s wrongs. Usually, he got to wondering what she was thinking about, but this time he just watched. Watched as piercing blue eyes searched him for...something. They seemed to strip away at him. God, but she was incredible.
Marinette must’ve seen something in his face that satisfied her, because after a few tense moments, she smiled. “I think I’ll get used to it, though,” she decided. “You fit together better than you think.” Her expression suddenly soured, and she sighed. “Much better than Marinette and Ladybug do, anyway.”
“I think you’re more similar than you realize, too,” Adrien said seriously. “And— can I say something tacky?”
“I thought that was sort of your whole thing.”
“Hey,” he said, faux-insulted. Ladybug just smirked, raised a hand as if to say ‘get on with it, then.’ Adrien shifted closer to her. “Well, you’re not two different people. Your miraculous may give you powers, but you’re the one who makes Ladybug a hero.” Adrien shook his head. “I can’t think of anyone better suited to be Ladybug than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” He grasped her gently by the shoulders so that she would meet his eyes. “My partner. My friend. The kindest, most heroic person I know.” Her face was full of soft surprise, and Adrien realized with a pang of sadness that he was probably the first person to say something like that — to call her, Marinette, a hero. It seemed to him for a moment like the greatest injustice in the world, and he was overcome with the need to say it to her face. He bit his lip. “Marinette. Could you— I’d really like to see you now. If that’s okay.”
Marinette blinked. “What do you— oh.” She looked down at herself, at the magic that empowered and concealed her. She seemed apprehensive. “Are you sure?”
Adrien nodded. Ladybug took a deep breath and released the transformation. A small red kwami emerged, immediately pulling Plagg a few paces down the alley for a hushed conversation.
And then they were Adrien and Marinette, on a side street during lunch hour.
“Hey,” she said shyly.
“Hey,” he echoed, grinning. “See?”
She cocked her head. “See...what?”
He spread his hands, gesturing to her civilian self. “Still a hero.”
One corner of her mouth quirked up. “If you say so,” she said, somewhat flippant, but her eyes were serious. “Thank you,” she told him, for the second time that day. “You’re a hero too, Adrien. Especially for dealing with me today.”
“My pleasure, Mari. To be fair, I think you pretty much had the situation under control without me.”
Marinette scoffed. “The akuma, maybe, but not...the rest of it. So...thanks,” she repeated. “I promise I won’t freak out again next time you tell me about your crush.” She laughed awkwardly.
Adrien frowned. “My...crush?”
Marinette shrugged, looking as if she wished she hadn’t brought it up. “You know, whoever your ‘someone else’ is. We’re uh. We’re good. If you’re good. Cause I’m, um, I’m good.”
He still wasn’t getting it. The only people he liked were — oh. “Oh,” he said. He had the bizarre urge to laugh. “Mari, my someone else was you. Ladybug-you.”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” How was this his life?
Marinette stared down at their feet. “And is that still…”
“Yes.”
“Even now that you know I’m just—”
“Definitely yes.”
Marinette looked back up at him. She nodded slowly. “Okay.”
He found himself turning slightly in the face of that piercing gaze, fixating on one of the alley walls. “Do you still like...Adrien?”
He heard Marinette close the distance between them; felt a hand on his cheek turn him gently to look at her. Before he could think of his next words, Marinette leaned forward and pressed their lips together. It was quick, but soft and sweet in ways that Adrien had only ever dreamed about.
“Yes,” she said firmly. Then, as if just realizing what she’d done, Marinette ducked her head. “I’ve never...um.” She laughed breathlessly. “Was that okay?”
Better than okay, Adrien wanted to say.
What came out of his mouth instead was “pawsitvely purrfect, Princess,” which made Marinette groan. “Sorry, I’ll lay off the puns. I know you’re not a big fan.”
“Actually, I think they’re pretty...amewsing,” she confessed. And she giggled. Actually giggled.
Adrien felt his face split into a grin. “If you think they’re so clawsome, why’d they never work on Ladybug?”
“Wh— because I— you, dummy!”
“Me?”
“Adrien-you. The crush. My crush.” She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe you made me fight off all that flirting for you.”
“Oh, oh, so that night on the tower! When you said there was another boy, you meant—”
“Adrien, yes,” she said, blushy and exasperated. “Though, for the record, I like Chat Noir just fine, too.”
Butterflies swirled pleasantly in Adrien’s stomach. She liked him. All of him. And not just because he was a model, or a superhero. But because they were friends. And partners. And she liked him. “I hope I’ve made my feelings clear for Marinette. But in case I haven’t…” He held out his hand and prayed that he wasn’t overstepping. “Lunch? Just the two of us?”
Marinette took it, smile wide in a way that Adrien felt sure he was mirroring. “Sounds perfect.”